Snow White and the Huntsman MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +2 Content: -2

Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Sam Claflin. Epic action adventure. Written by Evan Daugherty. Directed by Rupert Sanders.

FILM SYNOPSIS: In the epic action-adventure Snow White and the Huntsman, Kristen Stewart (Twilight) plays the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen (Oscar® winner Charlize Theron) out to destroy her. But what the wicked ruler never imagined is that the young woman threatening her reign has been training in the art of war with a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth, Thor) dispatched to kill her. Sam Claflin (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) joins the cast as the prince long enchanted by Snow White’s beauty and power.

PREVIEW REVIEW: The look is phenomenal, as are the special effects. What’s most outstanding, however, is Charlize Theron. Could this be an Oscar-worthy performance? Simply put, yes. When you examine the petrified performance by Julia Roberts in her take on the evil Queen in the recent Mirror, Mirror, another rendition of the Snow White fairy tale, you realize just how good Ms. Theron really is. No disrespect meant to Ms. Roberts, a fine actress, but in Mirror, Mirror her performance is cartoonish, her sullen attitude more like a grouchy movie star having to endure the nasty old press. Whereas, Ms. Theron plays pure evil, disturbingly, yet mesmerizingly so.

As to the rest of Snow White and the Huntsman, well, it is simply another indicator that today’s filmmakers aren’t much into subtlety. Nor do they seem to care much about a good vs. evil parable. It’s a different age and perhaps they are justly reading the movie-going audience. For there are several of these action adventures out that downplay metaphor, seeking rather to satisfy the blood lust of today’s moviegoers. During the final chapter of this version of Snow White, our heroine becomes a kind of Joan of Arc, a savior to her people, one who leads a mighty army against the evil queen and her minions. She does get a kiss that awakens her, but forget the “Someday My Prince will Come” tune. When she wakes up, she kicks butt.

It’s a long, dreary film, filled with violent acts done with knives, swords, martial arts punches and throws, and even balls of fire catapulted upon the advancing army. These balls of burning wood also explode when they hit the grown. (Evidently this Middle-Age WASP crowd has been introduced to gun power along with the art of kung fu combat techniques.)

I guess you’ve noticed that I haven’t mentioned the film’s star, Ms. Stewart. Again, no disrespect meant, but when you set her alongside Ms. Theron, you see who has not only the real beauty, but the acting chops. Ms. Stewart does little to convince us that she can outlive her Twilight brooding vamp. Once again, she takes on a character who doesn’t smile. Ever. Has anybody actually ever seen Kristen Stewart smile?

Please don’t think this film is for children. This isn’t a bedtime story. It’s aimed at the crowd satisfied only by screen mayhem and CGI gruesomeness.

Preview Reviewer: Phil Boatwright
Distributor: Universal